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There isn't a day that goes by that I don't hear another small
business owners complaining about some of the customers they
have to do business with. Some of them REALLY are legitimate
complaints, but after listening to 100's of different
complaints, I have found the root of most of them is a lack of
understanding. Therefore, I hope this article gets you on the
road of addressing complaints and customer problems in your home
business.
The first step is to get past the irritation. It's only human
nature to get a little upset when a customer writes to complain
about something totally stupid. Complaints like: It's been two
whole weeks and I haven't seen my ad on your website yet. Or,
how about those really stupid emails, like: Send me more info.
(No name provided. Info on what?) Then, the guy writes you the
next week and calls you a crook because you didn't answer his
email right away. It's obvious that there is a breakdown of
communication.
But let's look at the last complaint explained above and analyze
it for better understanding. For some reason, the guy was so
excited about your company that he forgot to mention what
information he wanted. He knew his name but never thought about
the fact that you probably didn't know it. Instead he was
excited and wanted to get his request emailed right away so he
could find out more. So his complaint to you would actually be a
compliment.
It's easy to simply write a quick email that says: Thank you for
requesting more information about our company. We apologize that
your first request was not filled, however, you neglected to
tell us what information you were interested in. It helps us
getting your request processed faster.
Now let's try and understand the education you provided to this
customer. I know, it's human nature to want to strike back
because this idiot hurt your feelings. But the only way you are
going to advance in business and present the professional image
you should be hoping to achieve, is to educate and help this
person. They, in turn will probably never make this mistake
again and will probably relate the information to others they
come into contact with. However, if you are hateful or never
fill the request you will have gained nothing except the
self-satisfaction of revenge.
Training and educating people is not really very hard at all.
Jesus gave us an example of how to teach in order to obtain
POSITIVE results by using parables. Parables are examples of
everyday situations so the person can relate and understand what
you are trying to tell him or her. Just saying the words may not
help. Some words go over a person's head or they don't
comprehend what you're saying because their mind is on something
else.
Good customer service and marketing go hand in hand. They both
depend on each other and work together for your business
survival. There should never be a moment when you shout back at
a customer. Hanging up the phone is a much better approach and
achieves the revenge you may seek in a more POSITIVE manner.
About the author:
Kim Haas is a WAHM and Founder of http://Womans-Net.com, a
popular online networking community focusing on working from
home and women in business and Owner of http://Article-Host.com.
To learn more about Kim, visit http://kimberlyhaas.com Copyright
2005
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